Spring Fishing at Flamingo

Everglades National Park, Fl

March 17, 2001

by: Jim Sawyer

Ah,
the colors of Spring; blue and green. The blue of a Jacaranda tree blooming
and the green of St. Patrick's Day beer. Sure signs that spring fishing is
about to begin in SE Florida. I had just noticed my first Jacandra covered
in blooms on Wednesday and was scheduled to go fishing with Capt. John Griffiths
on Saturday, March 17, St. Patrick's Day.

Blue and green are also the colors of clean fishable water in the
Everglades/Florida Bay area and can sometimes be hard to find during the
high winds of March. This is especially true after 3 or 4 days of strong
South to Southwesterly winds which was the condition we faced as we motored
out of the Flamingo Marina. However, John knows the area and the tides and
was confident we could find clean water when everything around us looked
like a chocolate milkshake.

After
leaving the marina we headed west to East Cape Canal and Lake Inghram. The
last of the rising tide entering from the Gulf gave us enough clean water
and current to connect with our first snook of the day and a nice black drum.
As the day progressed we moved from site to site and added snook, redfish,
trout and a 20 lb. jewfish to either the fishbox, or our fishing stories,
as size, species and luck dictated.

John is finally managing to teach me to fish Flamingo style. I am used to
fishing in open water where I can cast up current of the target and work
the lure back downstream. With the heavier cover and fish holding so close,
the best technique here is often to tie-off upstream and drop the bait back
right in front of their noses. In a couple cases it was like pitching jigs
to bass. Good reflexes and a tight drag help too.

The
fishing was never red-hot, but it was a much better day than I had expected
with the recent weather.

If you don't already know Capt. Griffiths I suggested you check out his website
at
www.captainjohngriffiths.com/
or his fishing
reports on
CyberAngler. John's reports are
among the most useful you will find and include more real information than
most guides are willing to part with.